The Hourglass, a tru calling fanfic

The Hourglass

The apartment was cold and dark, reflecting how she felt at that moment. Vigorously awakened by the vivid flashbacks of the day she thought was finally over, until that sudden and unforeseen cry for help.

"I can't even help myself" she whispered, as she sat in her bed not quite certain how to quiet her mind which seemed to have a life of its own. Countless thoughts all screaming at once, daring to 'go places' even without her permission. Her racing heartbeat and smothering sensation of heightened blood pressure seemed in harmony with the horror of the deafening thunderbolt and heavy hail pounding on the window in yet another ruthless addition to the panic that has struck her like a blow.

How can she save someone's life when her own life is spiraling out of control?

She took a glimpse at the digital alarm clock by her bed, with its flickering green light that read 5:17 AM, only to be distracted by the still hourglass next to it, all sands exhausted. A tear trickles down her warm, rosy cheek, adding another layer of sorrow and despair to her already troubled soul.

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives". That was not just the intro from a famous soap opera, but it was the writing engraved on the wooden frame of the hourglass given to her by the one person who understood death like no other. Her complete opposite… her strong nemesis… her true friend… her forbidden lover!

Jack will not be playing their usual war game this time around, because Jack is the one who asked for help!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stuck in traffic and nauseated by the repeated squeaking of the windshield-wipers breaking their way through the heavy pouring rain, Tru's trembling cold hands reach for her cell phone.

"Davis, I have a big problem, and you're the only one who can help me with it."

"I told you a million times Tru, I'm not an expert on community networks, you're gonna have to find someone else to help you redesign your MySpace page."

"What? No, I'm talking about a rewind day Davis."

"Oh, then I'm your man. Who's the lucky victim?"

"Jack."

"Where? Is he following you?"

"Jack is the one who asked for my help, Davis. Jack is the one who died yesterday."

"What? Are you serious? You know what this means?"

"No, I don't know what this means, I'm lost. How can he ask for a second chance for life if he's the one who's always opposed it?"

"No… uh… Tru… What I meant was: If he's no longer your opposite, then someone else is. The balance should never break."

"Who?"

"I don't know, it depends."

"On what?"

"On how and why he died. Do you remember how he died?"

Overwhelmed by the shreds of memories that suddenly fell down on her, leaving her in a state of blunt trance, Tru could not utter a word. Speechless and horrified, the events of the day before were too much to handle. How can she relive that pain when it was so unbearable to go through the first time! All she ever wanted was to be honest… to be free… to be true.

"Tru? Are you still there?"

Trying to swallow the pain and hide the fear from her shaky voice, she says: "I need to tell you something, Davis... Something you're not gonna like, but later... now I'm on my way to see Jack."

"Be careful, Tru."

The ticking sound of the dusty old clock hung on the wall of the Standard Diner is disturbing enough to make Tru gulp on the last of her third cup of coffee.

"Today is just another day, this isn't your first time. Just focus on the mission, you can do this." She tries to calm herself down before meeting the man who put her at odds with the values, beliefs, desires, passions, and visions that define who she always thought of herself. How can a love so strong be so wrong? How can the sensation of a delicious kiss bear in it guilt that lasts a lifetime? Perhaps because of the contamination of those ever-increasing obsessive thoughts that her mind kept shifting back to where it all started: The day he gave her the hourglass.

It was cold and foggy, the kind of day in which lonely-hearts have only one thing to do: Eat!

Tru's big brown eyes eagerly looking through the counter glass of a local pastry shop in search of the perfect snack.

"That one", she tells the waitress, pointing at the fresh cherry pie.

"Never imagined you as a cherry girl, Tru!" a familiar voice from behind her said, exposing her guilty pleasure of consuming a big snack before work.

"What kind of girl do you think I am? Not that I'm interested in your deluded judgment."

"Sweet potato! Solid on the outside, but sweet and tender on the inside."

Jack has always been the unconventional savvy and a master in delivering circuitous remarks. Something Tru admired greatly yet often criticized.

Sitting at a private table half an hour later, Tru was dazzled by Jack's intelligence and wit.

His sky-blue eyes and sexy smile left little room for distractions.

Between them lay a wooden framed hourglass that seemed to speak their language.

"You see Tru, this hourglass is a symbol of life and death. Two glass bulbs narrowly connected in the middle, representing the past and the future.

The neck between them is the here and now, the present. I want you to have this, Tru. Consider it a present!"

"And the lame engraving on the frame, is this the best you could do? Didn't imagine you as a soap opera fan, Jack."

"Did you know that pirates used winged hourglass drawings on their flags as a symbol that human existence is fleeting

and the sands of time will run out for every human life? Death is a part of life Tru, you have to learn to accept it."

"Refill, Miss?" a waitress interrupts the flow of bitter-sweet memories that haunt her like a not-so-friendly ghost.

"No thanks, I'm good." A cynical smile draws its way on her beautiful face. She knows she's lying, despite her simmering desire to scream and shout. She talks but does not speak her mind. She is tired of branching herself out to people who don't know of or appreciate her help, sacrificing years of her youth to save people who don't even care. Tired of carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. An exhausting burden, but a must. She just keeps on keeping on. Never complaining, never eluding. How ironic is it for someone to be given the responsibility of saving lives when her own life chain is suffocating, leaving her strangled and drained of critical life energy.

Bombarded with second thoughts, Tru put on her coat hurriedly: "My mother put her trust in a broken compass," she thought out loud, "I am not the right girl for this job."

"Then why don't you just quit?" said a voice that never failed to give her goose bumps.

"Jack…."

"In the flesh…"

"For now!"

"For now?"

"Believe it or not, this is a rewind day Jack."

"A rewind day? How come mine isn't? Unless I'm the one who… no, that's impossible. I would never ask for help."

"Well you did Jack and here we are."

"Do you know who I chose to be my successor? Coz honestly, I don't remember. Wait… of course I don't remember… coz I haven't died yet! Right Tru?"

"You chose your successor?"

"Of course! Your mother chose you, right?"

"And who chose you?"

"Nice try, gorgeous. That information will die with me today. What you should be worried about, however, is who is now in the game. Maybe it's Davis? Maybe Harrison!"

"You're NOT gonna die today… unless it is Harrison you chose, then I'll kill you myself."

"hahaha… Let's not beat around the bush, Tru. I am supposed to die today, it's indefeasible. And believe me, of all the people in the world, Harrison would be the last person I'd choose as my successor. No offense, he's just… sloppy."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That's what I love about you Tru, you always think you know what I'm saying, when the truth is, you don't even know what you're saying; you know what I'm saying?"

"This isn't funny, Jack."

"No and it's getting boring and since today's my last day, why don't we make the best of it? My place or yours?"

Shocked by his reaction, and angered by his insensitivity to her sacred duty on which his entire existence depended, Tru rushed her way to the door pushing it open. The street outside looked like a deserted town from a forties movie. No cars, no people, just piles of snow, and blocked roads.

"Tru, wait…" He followed her down the street. "You wanna talk about this, fine, let's talk."

Tru turned to face him and for the first time said what she was too polite and afraid to admit:

"I have been trying to give myself excuses all day long so as to avoid helping you live Jack. I've been telling myself over and over again that you don't deserve to live, you don't deserve a second chance. As a favor to all the people you tried to kill, and those you have killed, I should just let you die."

"Then by all means, let me die."

"I can't…. I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I'm not the one to decide who lives and who dies."

"Great, then I will make that decision for you. I die!"

"No, you don't. I won't let you."

"Why not?"

"Because I love you!"

Captivated by her honesty, and caught in the wilderness of the moment in a sudden eclipse of reason, Jack kisses Tru amorously, something he has been waiting and wanting to do for a long time. Tru is lost in the obscurity of a burning passion, a sweet surrender to the here and now, the perfect infinite kiss between life and death. Finally the two symmetric opposites are joined at the nick of time. No past, no future, as love is the ultimate embodiment of eternity. A transient radiance roams around them subliming their souls in a divine unity.

In the shadow of the street corner stood the estranged boyfriend, his eyes fixated on the kiss of death. Devoid of any facial expression, his frozen fire is saved for later exposure.

Tru breaks the bond in spite of finally feeling brave enough to own her feelings, the complication of knowing that the enemy is now the lover, and will soon be the victim decreased the original intention of raging and rebelling in defense of what is sinfully wanted. Attempting to catch her breath she tells him: "You did that yesterday too."

"I'm glad. I bet it felt just as good."

"It did… until Jensen shot you!"

Back at Tru's apartment, Jack is trying to understand the happenings of the day before:

"So, Jensen saw us kiss yesterday then followed us to my apartment and shot me? Is that why you wanted us to come to your apartment this time?"

"I can't let anything happen to you."

"You almost make me want to change my mind about dying. Maybe now I have something worth living for…" Jack walks slowly toward Tru, grabs her waist, and gently lays her down on the bed, "you!" he continues before planting a sweet kiss on her lips.

Feeling all tingly and with half closed eyes, Tru explains: "Yes… well, I did break up with Jensen and told him that I'm in love with someone else. That was before he got to see us kiss, so I guess his bitterness doubled."

"And today it tripled, Tru!" says Jensen, the angry boyfriend who is now standing in the bedroom with a gun pointed at Jack.

Tru jumps out of bed and stands between them in Jack's defense. "What? How did you…?"

""Know you were here… together? I had a hunch… or maybe you like calling it reverse flashbacks… ring any bell?" Jensen talks sarcastically.

Jack and Tru look at each other astonished by this new complication. Jensen is not only Jack's killer but he is also his successor who is determined to finish the job.

"I finally get it Tru." Jensen explains with a sweaty face and angry pitch in his voice: "It's all clear to me now. How you saved my life, why he tried to get me killed in the first place. It's all coming together now." Recalling the events of a few months back, when Tru saved Jensen's life.

"Listen to me Jensen," Tru tells him with a firm tone, "this is bigger than you think."

"Tru, let him finish the job. That's obviously why I chose him in the first place, to make sure he kills me in case I change my mind about wanting to die, and I was right." Jack interrupts.

"No" Tru shouts, "put the gun down Jensen, please… let's talk. I'll explain everything I promise." Then she turns her head towards Jack and scolds him: "and why are you encouraging him to take on his new gig?"

"You were my hero Tru……" Jensen tries to catch his breath, "but with all the lies and the cheating,… seems to me like you're my enemy now, Tru." In a sudden and unexpected move, Jensen points the gun at Tru instead. "Maybe I'll spare him, so he could live and suffer, while you get what you deserve."

"Hey.." yells out Jack, "You don't have the right to take someone else's life instead. It's me who died yesterday… I will be the one who dies today."

"How 'bout no one dies today.. ha? I root for that!" says Tru.

"How 'bout you both die today? That would save me a lotta future headache, wouldn't it?"

Jack jumps forcefully at Jensen, pushing him against the wall. The gun fires and misses Tru, only to hit the hourglass by the bed, smashing it to pieces.

The struggle between Jack and Jensen continues, until silenced by one last bullet.

1 Month later:

Tru is running down the cobblestone street, checking her watch frequently. A teenage girl who asked for help is about to meet face to face with death. Tru rushes up the stairs trying to make it to the top before Jensen gets to the victim. She finally makes it, only to find the girl hanging on the guard rail, screaming for help. Tru is stunned by what she sees. Memories of the same crime scene fall back on her, as she recalls Jack deliberately letting loose of a girl off the same tower two months ago. But this time, the roles have switched, and Jack, who is now fully recovered after being shot in the thigh, is the hero. Jack's shift from death to life and his making up for past mistakes leaves Tru impressed and relieved.

Down by the fountain, stood a man with a grudge. A rising enmity that fails to recognize the difference between a victim and a victor. In his point of view, all deserve to be punished. Everyone dies.

"Patience Jensen." Tru's father comforts his new prodigy. "All will happen in good time!"

The End!